Unit HistoryLineage:Constituted as the 76th Bombardment
Squadron (Medium) on 20 Nov 1940 and activated on 15 Jan 1941. It was
re-designated as the 23d Antisubmarine Squadron (Heavy) on 3 Mar 1943 and
disbanded on 6 Feb 1944. Reconstituted as the 23d Troop Carrier Squadron on 11
Nov 1944, the unit transported cargo and personnel throughout the European
Theater of Operation until its inactivation on 7 Sep 1946. The Air Force
revived the unit on 9 Jul 1956 as the 23d Helicopter Squadron at Stewart AFB,
Tennessee where they served at Phalsbourg France, RAF
Wethersfield UK, and Wheelus AB Libya until their
inactivation on 8 Jan 1958.

The Vietnam War saw the unit's reconstitution as the 23d Tactical Air Support
Squadron operating from NakhonPhanom
Royal Thailand Air Force Base (RTAFB), Thailand, from 15 April 1966 to 22 Sep
1975. They inactivated on 22 Sep 1975 only to be reactivated on 30 Nov 1975 at
Bergstrom AFB, Texas to train forward air controllers. They then moved to
Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona on 1 Jul 1980 until their
deactivation on 1 Nov 1991.

Finally,
on 15 Jan 1994, the Air Force reactivated the unit as the 23rd
Flying Training Squadron at Fort Rucker, Alabama to train future helicopter
pilots in the UH-1H "Huey".

Assignments:
1 Apr 1994 to Present - 58th Operations Group

Stations:
15 Jan 1994 to Present -Fort Rucker, AL

Aircraft Flown:
1994 to Present - UH-1H Huey

Operational Missions:
Jan 1994 to Present - Helicopter training with US Army and C-12 training for DoD

Designated as the 23d Flying Training Flight on 22
December 1993, it was reactivated on 15 January 1994 performing helicopter
training at Fort Rucker AIN, Alabama.Reassigned
to the 58th Operations Group on 1 April 1994, it was redesignated as the 23d
Flying Training Squadron on 21 December 1999.

Since January 1994, the 23d Flying Training Squadron
is the United States Air Force’s primary source of helicopter pilots for
special operations, combat search and rescue, missile support, and
distinguished visitor airlift missions. Its mission is providing Air Force
helicopter flight training for all undergraduate pilots proceeding to flying
careers in the Air Force’s UH-1N Huey, HH-60G Pave Hawk or CV-22 Osprey fleets.
Tactical training includes alternate insertion and extraction (AIEs) but
specialized training like hoists and gunnery is saved for type-qualification in
post-graduate flight training at 58th Special Operations Wing (SOW),
Kirtland
AFB, New Mexico, to smooth their transition in more complicated aircraft
and missions. USAF rotary wing students receive their wings when their Fort
Rucker pilot training class is completed.

While still a tenant of Fort Rucker, the Air Force has
developed its own independent training syllabus, separate from the Army's new
flight school model.

Air Force helicopter students start off with six months of
fixed-wing aircraft training at either Air Force or Navy bases. Once they get
to Fort Rucker, they already have six months of flying under their belt,

The Air Force trains 66 students a year at Fort Rucker. It
conducts 11 classes with six students in a class. Pilots spend 25 weeks there,
after which they move to Kirtland to train on the MH-53, the HH-60 and UH-1N.
Depending on the airframe, that portion takes four to nine months of training.
(see 1550th)